CHICAGO: US soybean futures fell nearly 2 percent to a 10-day low on Monday as a lack of consensus at a meeting of Asia-Pacific leaders cooled hopes that Washington and Beijing may resolve a trade dispute which has disrupted US soybean exports to China.
Wheat prices also fell sharply, shedding 1.8 percent as investors continued to wait for an upturn in US exports that has been widely expected due to reduced supplies in other exporting countries.
Corn edged lower, weighed down by the weakness in soybeans and wheat.
Asia-Pacific leaders failed to agree on a communique at a summit in Papua New Guinea on Sunday for the first time in their history as deep divisions between the United States and China over trade and investment stymied cooperation.
"Vice President Pence took aim at China at a summit in Asia over the weekend, dampening hopes talks between the two countries at the end of the month will yield a breakthrough," Farm Futures analyst Bryce Knorr said in a note to clients.
Soybean prices had gained ground on Friday after US President Donald Trump said his administration may not have to impose further tariffs on China, the world's biggest soybean buyer.
"The uncertainties surrounding the outcome of the trade dispute between the US and China are still causing the soybean price in Chicago to fluctuate each day," Commerzbank said in a note.
At 11:21 a.m. CST (1721 GMT), Chicago Board of Trade soybean futures for January delivery were down 17-1/2 cents at $8.74-3/4 a bushel.
Investors are looking ahead to a gathering of G20 countries in two weeks at which Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are expected to hold talks.
CBOT December soft red winter wheat fell 9-3/4 cents to $4.97 a bushel. K.C. December hard red winter wheat futures staked out a new contract low of $4.71-1/4 a bushel.
The wheat drop came despite further weakness in the dollar, which analysts said had been likely to boost demand for greenback-priced US commodities, including wheat exports, which have faced stiff competition from Russia and Ukraine.
The dollar hit a two-week low on Monday morning, pressured by cautious comments about the US economy from Federal Reserve officials.
However, shipments from Russia have remained brisk, despite tighter supply than in the United States.
CBOT December corn futures were down 2 cents at $3.62-3/4 a bushel.
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